Last night, we headed out to Park Slope, Brooklyn to check out the album release show for Liam McEneaney at the Bell House. McEneaney is the ringleader behind the popular comedy show turned concert film Tell Your Friends! and some of his friends stopped by to celebrate the release of his new stand-up comedy album, Comedian. The night kicked off like any other comedy show, with a 13 piece cover band rocking the house performing hits like “Walk The Dinosaur” and “Oye Como Va”. Each band member had a nickname. Our favorite was the guitar player who goes by the name, “Sugar Fingers”.
Host, Christian Finnegan then took the stage and informed everyone that Gilbert Gottfried wasn’t going to make it because he was yelling at someone. Finnegan also took some time to discuss how Hoboken should be the fifth borough instead of Staten Island and how he is proud to be a jerk on a bike but admits he will never look tough in a bike helmet.
Todd Barry had the first spot on the bill and was very popular with the hipster crowd. He is now incorporating more crowd interaction into his set which received a great response. In fact, it was funnier than his original material. Following Barry was the always funny Hannibal Buress, who took advantage of having a drummer on the stage and used her for punchlines. Ba-dum tsst! He also convinced me to head out New Orleans to talk to the police about organizing a parade on the spot. Apparently you can do that!? Jim Gaffigan was the last to perform before Liam and was the only comedian who actually gave praise to Liam for coming up with such a clever album title, Comedian. He spent the majority of his set discussing the ins and outs of NYC, why it is easy to look like a perv after leaving Victoria’s Secret with a little pink bag, and the difficulties of using a car service.
Liam McEneaney obviously closed out the night because it was his release show. His set included everything from live music and crowd participation to discussions of how terrible Greyhound and dating are. Not only was his material solid, he also did it with a broken foot! His new stand-up album Comedian just hit stores, and is definitely worth checking out so pick it up!
